History

Partnership for Children was set up in September 2001 to promote the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people throughout the world.

It grew out of work by Befrienders International, a global suicide prevention agency with telephone hotline services in 41 countries. People who use these services often feel unable to cope with difficulties in their lives, and some see suicide as their only option. Befrienders reasoned that if children could learn coping skills at an early age, they would be better equipped to deal with crises and difficulties as teenagers and adults.

A programme called Reaching Young Europe was created in 1997, to teach coping and social skills to six and seven year old children. The results were encouraging, but many teachers and parents were uneasy about a suicide prevention agency working with young children. Some media coverage was ill-informed and unhelpful.

To avoid such problems, it was decided in 2001 to set up a new agency, completely independent of Befrienders International, to further develop work with children and young people. Partnership for Children started work in January 2002, and Reaching Young Europe was re-named Zippy's Friends.

The range of work has grown considerably over the past five years. Zippy's Friends is now running in 13 countries and has helped more than 120,000 children. Resources and information have been developed for parents, and Partnership for Children works with other agencies to promote the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children internationally. Annual Reports review the agency’s achievements, challenges and finances.